Process of obtaining wax-like substances from lanolin.



almost universally at UNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTQE Isaac mrsoiri'rrz, or HAMBURG, GERMANY.

PROCESS OF OBTAINING WAX-LIKE SUBSTANCES FROM LANOLIN.

1,252,591. specification of L r nt Patented Jan.8,1918.

No Drawing. Application filed November 3, 1914. Serial No. 870,042.

To all whom it may concern: ing (decomposing) may be obtained by treat- Be it known that I, ISAAC Lirsont'rrz, a ing with alcoholic alkali. This saponificasubject of the German Emperor, and residtion or hydrolyzing of the woolfat is not a ing at Hamburg, Germany, have invented substantial part of the process described 60 certain new and useful Improvements in the and is well known to the experts, so a speci- Processes of Obtaining lVax-like Substances fication thereof is not needed, it is suflioient from Lanolin, ofwhich the following is a to state that the saponification or hydrolyzspecification. ing has to be complete. The product of the My invention relates to improvements in reaction is filled into a suitable washing re- 65 the process of obtaining wax like substances ceptacle and washed therein at ordinary temfrom lanolin, and the products obtained perature by means of spirits of from 60 to thereby, and the object of the improvements 70% After washing the product until the is to provide a process whereby the wax like liquid which flows off is as clear as the liquid substances are directly obtained from the which flows in, a solid white pulp is obtained 70 lanolin. With this object in View my invento which an equal amount of water having tion is based on the fact that the solubility a sufficient amount of mineral acid admixed of the fatty acids as such (or in the form of thereto is added, whereupon the whole mass alkaline soaps), and the alcohols of the is heated until the spirits has been distilled same, in alcohol such as wood alcohol and oil. The amount of'mineral acid required is 75 spirit (or other solvents which can be mixed found out by ascertaining in a specimen of with water), and the melting points are the product of the saponification the alkali the inverse ratio. For contained therein and by calculating thereexample lanocerin acid, which has a melting from the equivalent quantity of the mineral point of 104 degrees Centigrade, or the acid. After shortly clearing the mass the g alkali salt of lanoceric acid and the solid water is withdrawn and the molten waxlike cholesterins, which have melting points of mass is filled in molds, if desired after clean- 1 15 and 137 degrees centigrade, respectively, ing the same with reference to co or and are not all or in a slight degree only soluble odor. Thereby after cooling a light yellow in spirits of from 60 to 70%, while oleic odorless wax like mass is obtained which acid, which has a melting point of dewhen broken resembles carnauba wax and grees centigrade, or the alkaline soaps of as to the melting point and the kneading the same, and the soft cholesterin fracproperties it resembles the bees wax. tion 2 Bem'ehte der Deutschen Ohemischen As will be understood from the nature of Gesellschaft, vol. 31 (1898), pp. 1122 and the process by using stronger spirits, prod- 90 1123, are most easily soluble. ucts of higher melting points can be ob- Therefore by saponifying, orsplitting tained.

lanolin and sufficiently washing the product The output in wax is, according to the with spirits at ordinary temperature the raw material, from 35 to 10% of the raw easily soluble and the liquid substances enter acid lanolin and from to of the raw into the solution, while the difficultly soluble neutral lanolin. wax like substances remain in the form of a From the spirituous washing lyes lanolin solid-crystalline pulp, and after removing acids can be produced, as is known in the the spirits and separating the acid part conart. Thereby the residue of the raw matetained therein a light-yellow wax like prodrial is utilized without any loss.

uct is obtained which melts at a temperature A modification of the process consists in of from 65 to 68 degrees centigrade. The separating the product directly after saponilarger part of the said substance consists of fying, or otherwise splitting, the material,

the alcohols and fatty acids of the lanolin by an acid, or separating the same from anwhich have higher melting points. other splitting medium, and washing the In order that my invention be more clearly separated product by means of spirits or understood I shall now describe an example wood alcohol." The pul which remains as a for putting the process into effect. residue is treated in t e same way as has 1000 kilograms of raw acid or neutral been described above, and from the wash'ng lanolin of the trade are saponified or hydro lyes similar products can be obtained as in lyzed by any known or preferred method. the example described above.

For instance the saponification or hydrolyz- As compared to known processes my imnot are distinguished fro httle space is required. The lanolin is split only in two products, one of which, that is the Wax, has a high commercial value, while the other product, that is the lanolin acid, is

more valuable than the raw material (the lanolin).

Ordinarily the product of my improved process'consists of the fatty acids and alcohols which have high melting points, which product is very similar to the natural wax in so far as it can easily be saponified. In this respect my improved process and prodown processes and products in which without exception the products of the splitting operation of the lanolin are perfectly separated into technically pure fatty acids and alcohols.

At present large quantities of lanolin are supplied to the market, which largely exceedthe demand. Therefore my improved process is of high commercial value, because from a raw material of comparatively low cost valuable products are obtained.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. The herein described method, which consists in saponifying or hydrolyzing woolfat, and then washing the same at ordinary temperature with an alcohol soluble in water for separating therefrom the parts soluble thereby, until the residue results in a solid waxlike product.

2. The herein described method which consists in saponifying or hydrolyzing WOOlfat and then separating therefrom, by means of washing the saponified or hydrolyzed product with an alcohol soluble in water,

the part'which at ordinary temperature is 1 soluble therein, until the solid residue results in a Waxlike product.

3. The herein described method which consists in saponifying or hydrolyzing wool- 1 fat, washing the saponified or hydrolyzed material with an alcohol soluble in water until the solid residue results in a waxlike product, and treating the alcoholic filtrate by some suitable method to obtain the fatty acids dissolved therein. 7

4. The herein described light yellow waxlike product having a melting point above 50 C.=120 F. and consisting of high melting fatty acids and alcohols of woolfat.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

DR. ISAAC LIFSCHUTZ. Witnesses WILLY JACOBSOHN, THADDAEUS S. MICTOWSKI, 

